Joining Us
Joining The Club - Becoming a Member
Joining Basics
As a member you will be part of a vibrant and well run club with an excellent committee and support team.
We do not do "Have a go days" or support "Corporate Days Out", but we are always looking to take on new members.
We run field archery training courses during the summer [April to September] for those who are new to archery or are looking for a refresher.
We take on experienced new members all year round and newbies during summer months in line with the training schedule.
WFA Membership years runs 1st April to 31st March.
You will need to be a full NFAS member. NFAS membership year matches WFA. For further details please visit the NFAS website.
If you are interested in joining please contact the club Chairman or Secretary via westcombefieldarchers@gmail.com to book an assessment or training course.
A WFA membership form and a copy of our club rules can be found on the downloads page.
Please note WFA is unable to accept children under the age of 16 years as a member except as part of a family membership. We do not recommend training children under the age of 8.
WFA Membership
WFA Membership Year is 1st April to 31st March.
Membership allows you to shoot at the club [see Shooting Days and Times below].
Membership Fees are:
Adult [16 and over] £55/per year
Family [2 Adults [max] and at least 1 Child up to 2 Children] £95/per year
Junior add on [to either Adult or Family] is £5 per year
There are no session or further fees to pay during the year.
We are non-profit club. All fees from membership, open shoots and any other fund raising goes towards the running of the club.
Experienced and signed off archers can join the club any time throughout the year.
For new members who have no archery experience or who want to go through an introduction training course April-September we charge £35 for a three week course. This is refundable against full annual membership.
You must be a current NFAS member to be a WFA member.
When you register with the NFAS you provide them with the name of your Joined Club which is printed on the NFAS card. This is used as your WFA Membership Card.
The WFA Membership Form can be found in the download area.
Any member can become a committee member.
As a committee member or ordinary member you can help shape the club and the course.
We hope that all members will become actively engaged in the upkeep and running of the club during the year. Setting courses, maintaining targets, bosses, equipment and doing "gardening" is an allround activity.
Please note WFA is unable to accept children under the age of 16 years as a member except as part of a family membership. We do not recommend training children under the age of 8.
The WFA reserve the right to chose who they allow to join the club.
Any breach of the club rules may mean cancelation of your membership without refund.
If you need to renew or change your membership details contact the club secretary at westcombefieldarchers@gmail.com
- Shooting Days
The woods are open for club members to shoot all day Tuesday, Thursday after 16:00 and all day Sundays.
There is a car park for members and guests
There is a notice board with information of the current courses open and any important information.
You must be an NFAS member to shoot at our woods as a guest.
Insurance
All new members must first join the NFAS before being applicable to join WFA. This will provide you with the base insurance to allow you to attend the club and go through the safety and/or training assessment needed to join WFA. NFAS offer a temporary membership while this process takes place. Once completed a qualified trainer will sign you off to allow you to get full NFAS membership.
For further details please visit the NFAS website.
Training, Have A Go and Corporate Days Out
We welcome new and enthusiastic new members but taking on new members who are not experienced archers is time consuming, therefore, we will not take on individual “Have a Go” requests or take on "Corporate Days Out".
We will take on anyone who is honestly looking to take up the sport by offering new members who have no archery experience a £35 three week training course. This is refundable towards annual membership. For more details download the Training Course Overview on our downloads page. This course is also open to archers wanting to be re-introduced to the sport.
Training Courses are run from April to September each year. They are normally over 3 separate days [which do not have to be consecutive] and include tuition sessions followed by rules/safety/shooting on the course.
Training is normally Sunday mornings at 08:45 [turn up] for a 09:00 [start] and they normally last until around lunchtime.
As part of the safety assessment you will need to shoot round the woods with one of the WFA committee members. This will be done once for established NFAS members, and up to three times for members of other archery organisations and trainees.
We can buddy you up with an experienced club member beyond the initial training for you to get more experience and confidence.
Training Kit
If you are a newbie and are going to go through the training we will provide you with kit for the duration of the course and for a short while after until you have obtained your own kit.
When you are new to archery we recommend you do not go out and buy a bow [or at least an expensive bow] until you have had some experience to build up your form, strength, style and get to know your true draw length. We will [kit levels allowing] let you train and shoot with us using club equipment until you are ready.
You can kit yourself out with reasonable set of kit for around £150 or you can go to the top of the table for £1000s. It will be your choice. However, be warned it is the archer and form that gets the good shot not the expensive kit.
Being Signed Off for NFAS and WFA Membership
Before you can become an NFAS or WFA member you need to go through an assessment and be “Signed Off”. This can only be done by an existing NFAS member who has been approved by the NFAS to Sign Off archers. Sign off is not just to shoot at your club but to be part of the NFAS and be able to shoot in any NFAS affiliated shoot. Therefore, the NFAS set these guidelines.
This is done against the NFAS “Signing-off Guidelines and Code of Practice“. The guide states: “Coaches and others with authority to sign off provisional NFAS members must be satisfied that the archer is competent, safe and understand the NFAS rules before signing him/her off.”
You can do your training with us without formal NFAS membership but you must be full signed off members before you can fully join.
The categories that you are assessed against are:
Disability/Health – in terms of not being at risk or putting others at risk because of your health.
Children and Vulnerable Adults – is aware that they must and can be accompanied by a parent/guardian.
Handedness and Eye Dominance – you are able to identify hand and eye dominance
Equipment Check and Assembly – how to string/destring a bow; how to look for faults befor using; know a safe arrow length; knowing the right kit to use; not having unsafe clothes/jewellry/etc; how to mark arrows; how to set and use a sight.
Basics of shooting – stop and hold; safe let down; safe range practices; safe drawing and release; a reasonable standard of accuracy when shooting unmarked distances [3 of 6 arrows hit target at short distances up to 25y or be close to the target for longer distances 65y]; shooting from disruptive stances;
Scoring – What pegs to use; how to score in a competition; understand scoring rules such as line cutters/bounce backs/ pass through; robin hoods; broken arrows in targets; bounce-in; accidental shooting out of sequence; identify the right scoring zones;
NFAS Rules and Etiquette – NFAS Safety Rules; NFAS Shooting Rules and Etiquette;
Signing Off – the NFAS form must be completed correctly before signing-off.
First Shoot – The archer understands what to expect at their first shoot: Suitable clothing; importance of hydration & food; finding the venue; booking in/registration/card check/group allocation; how to move safely around a course; safety talk; emergency alarms; practies on jumping and bringing in 3Ds; Strategies/tips for findind lost arrows; Safe retrieval of arrows from roots/trees/etc/ personal safety equipment; Awareness of Lyme disease;
Disciplinary – aware that a breach of the rules could lead to disciplinary action and loss of membership.
Contact Us
You can email us at westcombefieldarchers@gmail.com
Our postal address and phone number is available to NFAS members from the NFAS contacts page.
Facebook: Non-Members Group
